MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) — It started way back in 1905. The Toy Fair has been an annual tradition in New York City for 118 years. But now it’s leaving New York City, perhaps for good.

There were eight football fields worth of toys on display. Among them was Mego2’s 2XL cobot or collaborative robot speaking 30 languages.

It is considered by many the next generation of interactive smart toys for the 5 to 12-year-old set.

“It’s a Cobot that actually learns from you, remembers things you say, and it has discussions back-and-forth,” Nathaniel Hunter, CEO of D1srupt1ve Inc., told PIX11 News.

But at this year’s toy fair, the hottest topic among the 20,000 toy buyers wasn’t the hottest toys but the toy association’s decision to move the toy fair to New Orleans in 2026 because the Javits Center isn’t available to them when they say they need it most in January.

“We’re all New Yorkers who work here. We have our offices here. We love our city and state,” Steve Pasierb, CEO of the Toy Association, told PIX11 News. “But this is a global business with 89 countries represented here today, making decisions for companies and retailers all over the world.”

The toy fair has been in New York City for 118 years and, in recent years, has boosted the city’s economy by more than 20 million a year.

Many toy exhibitors don’t want to go.

“I feel bad New York’s going to lose our money that we have supported with, but if we’ve gotta move, we’ve gotta move,” Anita Naglie, Wild Republi’s sales manager key accounts,” told PIX11 News.

“I guess we’ll go eat some gumbo and move to New Orleans,” Bruce Katz, Mego2 president, told PIX News. “That’s what I’ll do.”

Toy Fair has one more New York Javits Center event in March 2025.